Banco BTG Pactual S.A. Invests $449,000 in Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Banco BTG Pactual S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,578 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $449,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Hemington Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in Discover Financial Services by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 9,248 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,602,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lifted its holdings in Discover Financial Services by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 6,158 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,067,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Invst LLC grew its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Invst LLC now owns 7,253 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,018,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Discover Financial Services by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. now owns 2,047 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $287,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. 86.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Discover Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of DFS opened at $169.86 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.74 billion, a PE ratio of 10.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $185.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $169.65. Discover Financial Services has a 52-week low of $119.31 and a 52-week high of $205.76.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.13 by $1.98. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 26.18%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Discover Financial Services will post 13.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Discover Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.65%. Discover Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on DFS. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $185.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Discover Financial Services from $193.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Discover Financial Services from $262.00 to $219.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Discover Financial Services from $170.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Discover Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $150.00 to $239.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $192.40.

About Discover Financial Services

Discover Financial Services, through its subsidiaries, provides digital banking products and services, and payment services in the United States. It operates in two segments, Digital Banking and Payment Services. The Digital Banking segment offers Discover-branded credit cards to individuals; personal loans, home loans, and other consumer lending; and direct-to-consumer deposit products comprising savings accounts, certificates of deposit, money market accounts, IRA certificates of deposit, IRA savings accounts and checking accounts, and sweep accounts.